Language proficiency after a degree in German

I'm coming to the end of the obligatory 'year abroad' before heading back to Britain to finish my undergrad degree in German, and I'm a bit alarmed that my language skills haven't improved as much as I'd hoped. Overall I'd say I'm probably at level C1 - my grammar's very sound, but my vocab seems a bit lacking. Assuming some of you did German at university, how good were you actually expected to be by your final year?

C1 is about the level you'd be as a graduate from a university in Alberta, Canada with a degree in German. I only got to B1 there, but based on experiences of friends...
The thing with where you're at is that if you're grammar is sound, you don't need classes to work on your vocab per se. The focus shifts away from classroom-oriented at your stage, I believe.

When I had finished my year abroad I was also unsure about how my skills had improved.

After I graduated and moved to Frankfurt I was pretty confident that my German was very good and had no troubles communicating. Boy after living in Frankfurt for one year I had improved amazingly - more than I ever did during my degree year. This pattern went on for the first five or so years that I was living here. I couldn't believe how much I was improving and to think I had been 'fluent' when I graduated was a joke.

I am not sure what level I am at now not done a test for years and years. I got a 1 in the DSH in 2001 not sure what that equates to.

don't you mean 'if your grammar is sound'?

...sorry, but the context makes your error so funny

Ha. Apparently I should be a little bit more careful when I'm typing. Thanks for the heads-up.

I graduated from a German university and I must say, it was not easy. My grades took a nose-dive because although my German was quite good it wasn't good enough enough to be able to convey what I wanted to say in exams under a stress situation. Also it made writing my dissertation (Diplomarbeit) that much harder as I was concentrating way to much on getting the German right which took valuable time away from actually making sure the content was up to scratch. I had a hard time and my German is not and was not bad.

I'm just finishing up my year abroad as well and I would say I'm in the same situation. My grammar is fine (vastly improved!) but there are huge holes in my vocab - I almost feel that I've lost words rather than gained them...

My German had improved during the year abroad, I really thought I was all that.
Now I look back and laugh.
It was crap compared to now so I'm totally in agreement with Purple Muffin there.
Still got my degree (Fr./Ger./Bus.) though, so I wouldn't panic too much.

just wondering...what sort of jobs do you guys want to work in after you graduate with a degree in German? (and do those personal wants match what the market wants? )

I'm not too worried about the level because I know that before year abroad I was better than a lot of people on my course (although I was kind of living here part-time)
I want to be a translator when I finish (which is why "losing" words is a problem!) and I already work freelance in that field so I have no worries about that.

@alex m, if you really want to be successful as a translator in Germany, then you'll really need to add a qualification as a certified translator to your language degree. You know how obsessive the Germans are about qualifications!

Thanks for the advice but when it comes to translators INTO English, most seem happy for you just to speak both languages. I currently have plenty of work even without my degree and I don't plan to stay in Germany forever - I'll worry about additional qualifications as and when I need them. Postgrad. translation qualifications don't come cheap!

You can test yourself to an extent - at least for reading and listening skills. The TELC website for one has model papers including answers for all of the levels up to and including C1 .

We all have different views and experiences. Mine (having gone through the DalsF route) is that vocabulary is critical by the time you get to B2 and C1. That's what makes you make progress then.
It's not so much learning more names for things. It's more about being able to say the same / similar things in multiple ways, being able to apply degrees / intensity to what we say, to learn idioms phrases etc and to deduce subtlety of meaning (and unsaid things) etc..

Most of the grammar basics should be introduced at latest by the end of B1 or start of B2 and simply reinforced or widened later. I also think there's not that much of a gap between B2 abd C1. Most of my peers found B1 and B2 to have the biggest gap.

What surprises me when I read about degree content is how little speaking there is (or at least how little it's tested).

I work for a German medical company as a project manager on a large clinical database. I have to confess my job has pretty much nothing to do with my degree apart from the fact that I use German to communicate with people at work! Having a degree in German basically qualifies you for nothing here and I quickly discovered that when I got here. I actually got to where I am now as I started here doing secretarial temping work when I first came over. I think if I had my time again knowing what I know about the world now I would have chosen a different degree.


I don't know who 'most' are and where exactly you are looking for work and how much you get paid but to get a full time job as a translator in any large decent company you are going to need a qualification - not because it will improve your translation skills but because everyone else in the queue in front of you with any hope of getting that job will have one. If you just want to freelance and go it alone then maybe you could get along with just a degree but I think setting up a translation business with the aim of winning work from large medical companies you are going to need something to be taken seriously.